


Falling from Grace

by Jds523



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2019-10-09 18:18:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17411843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jds523/pseuds/Jds523
Summary: Elliot and the team are blindsided when a monster from the past returns. Taking one of their own and leaving sick clues in his game of cat and mouse. Knowing that they only have 72 hours before their taken team member is killed, the urgency is felt by them all. But nothing is ever as cut and dry it seems. And as all the pieces come together all the evidence seems to point to one of their own and not the monster. With the team torn apart and a monster walking the streets will any of them be able to pull themselves back together and regain some sort of normalcy.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is just in fun, I don't own anything you know. I love Elliot Stabler. And no this is not an E/O story, but I still hope that you give the story a chance. I have a majority of this story written already, so I can update pretty quickly. As always if you like it let me know. I love any feedback. And Thanks for reading, and giving it a chance. Also please note that while I do proof read, some things get past me. So if you see something your more than welcome to say something.

Elliot rubbed his eyes as he walked down the street. It had been a long week and he was looking forward to blowing off some steam. Emily, a new member to the SVU unit, was already at her apartment waiting for him. The relationship between the two of them started out as nothing more than two people, lonely people, spending time together. And even though neither of them expected things to turn into what they had, they were both over joyed that they had.

Elliot had been divorced for a year. His kids knew he'd been seeing Emily, but didn't ask to many questions, which he was thankful for. Their parents dating other people was a new thing for them and no one was really sure how to approach it. As for Emily, she had only been at SVU for ten months. She didn't need the looks and whispers that comes with a newcomer sleeping with a well established detective. She knew all to well where that led.

The truth was that Elliot and Emily were more than dating. A lot more. He had asked her to marry him just a few days prior. And he was more than thrilled when she said yes. And the week following they were going to disclose to the captain because she was moving in with him. After his divorce Elliot thought he'd never get serious about any one ever again, let alone living with them or marriage. But for the first time in a few years he could see his future as more than being that award odd man out at functions for the kids. Kathy was moving on, the kids were happy, and he had his Emily. Life was good.

Elliot stood at the front door to Emily's building and buzzed her apartment. It was late fall, the days were shorter and the night air was cold. As he sighed deeply he could watch his breath leave his body. Turning back to the buzzer he tried again. He knew she was looking forward to him coming over, she'd made that very clear earlier in the day with a suggestive text. But it had been a long week and she was trying to get all her packing done so he figured she must have fallen asleep.

After the fourth time Elliot tried calling her cell. Just like with the door there was no answer. Being a cop for so many years his first instinct was to think the worst. When someone opened the door to walk out, Elliot let himself in. By the time he reached her floor he had regained his composure. Emily was a cop, she could take care of herself. There was nothing for him to worry about. He knew her, she went home took a shower and fell asleep on the couch after turning the ringer down on her phone.

Reaching her door he knocked. He had a key but if she was asleep he didn't want to just walk in and scare her. Scaring a cop usually led to a bad ending. Again no answer at the door. He checked his phone to be sure that he hadn't missed a message from her or read something wrong. There it was in black in white, she would be waiting for him at her place when he got off work.

With no choice he pulled his key from his pocket, but when he put the key in the lock he was surprised to find the door was already unlocked. He tired to push the door open with his hand but there was something behind it, he had to use his whole body, and that took some force. When he finally got it open enough to slide through the small opening he stepped inside. He could see that her little table by the door was knocked over and was now laying behind the door. The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up. Turning from the door he looked around the living room. “Emily!” He shouted out through the small apartment.

With no answer Elliot moved slowly from the living room to the kitchen, to the bedroom. He stepped over everything on the floor being sure not to disturb anything. He knew what this was, he wasn't ready to admit it to himself yet though. But he knew. It was a crime scene. Things were knocked over and scattered around the floor. When he got to the bedroom he stopped when he saw blood on the floor.  
Pulling out his phone Elliot quickly called Olivia. “Liv I need you at Emily's apartment. Send a bus.” He was quick to get off the phone. Not even giving Liv a chance to ask him what was going on. Stepping over the blood he walked to the bathroom. In the tiny room his heart began to pound so hard it was literally painful.

In the bathroom the mirror was broke. When he got closer he could see her long dark brown hair stuck between the broken pieces. Elliot reached for it but just an inch away he stopped. He couldn't disturb anything. Everything was a piece of the puzzle. Clues to what had happen. Looking at the long strands in the broken glass of the mirror he couldn't wrap his mind around what he was looking at. He'd seen this stuff so many times before, but this was different. This was some one he loved.

Olivia got to the apartment with Cragen and Finn in tow. The shock and surprise on their faces said it all. This truly was a crime scene. But it was more than that. This was the apartment of a coworker, a friend. Walking through the apartment Cragen began his questions.  
“What were you doing here?” Cragen turned to Elliot.

“What?” Elliot knew right where this line of questioning went. He'd asked the same questions many time before.  
“Did she call you? Did you just stop by?”

“I stopped by.” He was quick to respond. Elliot looked around as the CSI team began to swarm the small apartment. This was the first time since his first year on the job that he felt like he didn't know what to do.

“Ell what happen?” Liv placed her hand on his shoulder. It was clear to see that he was confused and pensive.

“I just stopped by.” He answered.

“But how did you get in?”

“The door was open.”

“Why did you come here in the first place?”

“What?”

“Elliot what did you come here for in the first place?” Liv stared him down. Elliot just looked at her bewildered.

“We need to leave the scene.” Cragen stepped between the two of them.

Standing outside Elliot watched the people go in and out of the apartment. No one telling him anything. It seemed every two seconds he was checking his phone. Hoping, praying, begging for her to call him. Just tell him that she'd trashed her own apartment and went for a walk.

“How did you get in the apartment?” Cragen asked Elliot.

Elliot stood there looking at his captain. What could he tell him. I had a key cause were sleeping together. Oh and by the way this has been going on for six months, we're getting married, your invited to the wedding, and we're moving into together next week, at which point we were gonna disclose this whole thing to you. Yeah, everyone would believe that story. All though it wasn't a story, it was the truth he didn't want to explain what was going on. He knew lying would bite him in the ass. At that moment he didn't know what to think.  
He tired to think. Was there any sign of forced entry when he got to her door? No there wasn't, the door was unlocked. So what the hell could he say. “The door was unlocked.”

“But why did you come by in the first place?” Cragen needed to know why Elliot went to Emily's, and how he got inside if she wasn't there. At that moment he had a crime scene and Elliot was found right in the middle of it.

“What? Why? I...I had a question about a case.” Elliot stopped talking as he watched two men take Emily's bed cloths from her apartment. He knew those sheets intimately. He spent many nights tangled in those sheets with nothing between the two of them but the silk fabric. “I have to go.” He tried to walk away.

Liv hurried to his side and grabbed him by the arm turning him back to her. “Elliot we have a crime scene, a missing cop and you right in the middle of it. Where do you think your going?”

“Back to the station.” He snapped and left with out giving her or anyone else a chance to say another word. Liv just watched him walk away. He'd never been one to walk away from a crime scene. But she had her suspicion as to why he was finding it so hard to stay.

 

_Emily walked into the squad room. Nervous, she was the new person in the unit, knowing all to well how that felt. Clenching her fist, opening her hand, then clenching it closed again. She worked hard for this and she wasn't going to let anyone see that she felt so out of place. As far as other people were concerned, she was gonna show them no fear. Standing unsure of new surroundings she was greeted by a friendly face. “Can I help you?” A woman spoke sympathetically._

_“I'm looking for captain Cragen?” Emily was told to report to the captain first thing that morning._

_“I'm detective Benson, captain Cragen isn't in just yet, is there something I can help you with?” Olivia was soft spoken with a gentile kindness in her eyes._

_Before Emily could answer a voice came before the two women. “Detective Benson, I see you've met detective Sullivan” Cragen steps beside the women._

_“Olivia Benson.” Liv reaches her hand out._

_“Emily Sullivan.” She shook hands and began to look around. She saw a few other people around, mostly men. She didn't say it but she wondered if she would be partnered with Olivia. Keeping the women together cause it's to hard to for men and women to work together._

_At least that was how it worked at her last station._

_“And this is detective Stabler.” Cragen moved allowing her to lock eyes with a tall well built man. His dark hair made his blue eyes seem so bright. Emily didn't say anything. Just shook his hand and nodded. But she was curious about him. Felt there might be something about him that she would either love or hate. She didn't know it but the odd look on his face was because he felt the same way about her._  
_Elliot watched as she walked away following Cragen. She was wearing jeans with a gray shirt and a thin jacket over it. Her long dark hair was pulled up neatly in a pony tail. Every hair in it's place. Her bangs not quite long enough to stay up, tucked behind her ears. She had an innocent look about her that made her seem out of place._

_Cragen walked Emily around introducing her to the rest of the staff and stopped at a desk across from Fin. Her new partner. The two talked for a few moments before a call came in and they were off. Her first call, her first case with the unit. She was eager to dig in and figure out how things were done._


	2. Chapter 2

Elliot stood with the rest of the team around a table as the facts were laid out in front of them. Pictures, cases that Emily was working, lists of people she knew. This was always where they started. The last moment she was seen and work backwards. “She left around six.” Fin was the last one of them to see her, when she left for the day. Elliot looked at him when he spoke. Yes Fin was the last one to talk to her, but he was the last one to communicate with her. She had called him twenty minuets after she left asking him to give a file to Cragen before he left for the day. And the moment they got her phone records everyone would know that there was more than just work phone calls going back and fourth.

Phone records take time so they had to work with what they had. “Was she going straight home?” Cragen asked Fin.

“She didn't say.” Fin answered looking over the photos in front of him. He'd grown fond of Emily. Her brutal honesty and the way she didn't take any shit from anyone. Her natural instincts were on point and the way she always seemed to get through to the victims. It seemed as though she herself had once been on the other side of the questioning.

“Assuming she went straight home and there was an intruder waiting for her, they only have a five hour head start on us. They couldn't have gotten far. It was clear that Emily didn't go willing, She was either drugged or bound some how. Either way it couldn't have been easy to get her anywhere.” Cragen turned to the map. “Go through every abandoned building, check every camera. Find something.”

Cragen turns after Elliot and Liv leave. “Go through everything on her computer, find anything that stands out.” He ordered Fin before he went to his office. A missing officer meant a lot of notifications. Emily didn't have any family. But he spread the word and every black and white was looking for anything that could lead them to their fellow comrade.

Fin started combing through Emily's files. Nothing odd or out of place. But then a file popped up in the middle of the screen. The words 'Open Me' on it. He clicked it and leaned back as a video began to play. It was clear that someone was holding the camera. A room with hard wood floors and dark wood paneling appear. The camera pans around to a bed. In the middle of the bed lays a woman bound to the iron bed frame. Her hands and feet to each corner. Fin stops the video.

Cragen looks up from his desk as Fin bust through the door. “You need to see this.” Fin turned and went back to the desk. He and Cragen watched the video in full before they called Stabler and Benson in to watch it again with them. As soon as he saw her dark hair down and knotted around her face Elliot knew it was her. That was Emily tied to that bed. His Emily.

As the camera moved closer to Emily they noticed something on her stomach. The closer it got the clearer it became it was a news paper. But the camera moves before they can make out any of the print. The person running the camera slowly moves around the bed. Zooming in on each of her limbs. They could see her wrist and ankles were bloody and raw from her struggling against the rope. After a moment the lens moves to her face.

Emily had duct tape on her face. A strip across her eyes. She also had a ball gag in her mouth. But on each side there was more duct tape. A piece on each cheek. This person wanted to be sure the gag stayed where they put it. Elliot's face begins to turn red as he balled his fist in rage. He had to watch this video and know that he couldn't pull her from that bed at that very moment. Just scoop her up in his arms and take away the pain.

It was unmistakable the person behind the camera was enjoying his directorial debut. After a few closes ups of Emily's face the camera finally zoomed in on the news paper. It takes a minute for the font to come into focus and as it does each of the detectives hold their breath. The head line at the top of the paper read 'Suspected murderer released on technicality' and they knew right then and there who was holding the camera. “Ellis Nickels” Olivia said without hesitation. And without warning the video just stopped. '

Ellis Nickels was one of the worst the unit had come upon. Just a year before, they arrested him after months of a sick game of cat and mouse that left them with a body count of five. The problem was that they had no way to prove Nickels had anything to do with the victims. They had one person come forward and say they saw him with his last victim. But they were a drug addict and they couldn't count on their testimony to hold up in court.

Everyone at SVU went at Nickels with all they had. But he had an IQ of 165 and knew the law inside and out. He knew that they had nothing but the word of a druggie and they would have to let him go at the end of 24 hours since they couldn't charge him. So all he had to do was keep his mouth shut. All though he did enjoy mocking them at every turn. Every person that questioned him knew that he'd done everything they were accusing him of, but a gut feeling wouldn't hold up in court either, no matter who they were, or how long they'd been a cop.

In the year since their dealings with Nickels, news paper clipping began arriving. Addressed to different members of the squad. Each one talked about a woman found raped, some had even been brutally tortured before finally being murdered. Each woman was taken from a different city, no two women had the same body type, or were killed the same way. And he never did the same thing twice. Tracing all these crimes to one person was all but impossible.

“Get his mug shot out to every news station. If he's in the city someone has had to have seen him.” Cragen order Fin as he was already turning to leave to do just that. The sooner the picture got out the sooner the whole city would be looking for Nickels.

The boxes of evidence against Nickels were placed on a table. The grotesque pictures of his victims laid out as Elliot looks at them. The thought that at that very moment Emily was going through what these women had went through was enough to turn his stomach. He had to walk away if he had any hope of maintaining his composure.

Walking into the bathroom he shut the door behind him and locked it. Standing over a sink he turned the water on and watched as it circled the drain. For a moment he felt that was his life and all the good things he had going for him were circling the drain and about to be lost to him for forever. If he wasn't able to save Emily he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to come back to this job.

_Emily had been at SVU for just over three months. The cases never got any easier, nor did the work. But she liked the people she worked with. She truly felt she could trust them, even in the moments she didn't agree with them. And every once in a while after closing a hard case they would get together for a drink a bar close to work._

_Sitting around the bar the four detectives talked about other cases like the one they just closed. How the perps tripped themselves up. The few moments in their line of work that truly made the drudgery of everyday worth it. After a few drinks Fin and Olivia called it a night. Emily was to worked up to leave just yet, so she stayed and ordered another soda. She'd never been a drinker, so at the bar she stayed away from anything with alcohol._

_Elliot's divorce was final just a few months before Emily started at SVU. He wasn't in any hurry to return to his empty house. So he stuck around for one more as well. When Emily was ready to head home, Elliot being the kind of man he was, offered to walk her home. And she was more than happy to have the company._

_“What do you think of the city so far?” Elliot asked as they walked. They had worked cases together as a group with Fin and Olivia. But he'd never been alone with her until this moment. For whatever reason he wanted this time alone with her. The fleeting glimpses in the squad room where they would lock eyes would cause a primal feeling deep within him, and he wanted to explore that. He'd been single for over six months at this point, so really what could it hurt?_

_“_ _It's big.” Emily looked him in the eye for just a second before she bit her lower lip and looked away. Her heart began to pound in her chest and she knew her face had to be turning red._

_“Think_ _you'll stick around for a while?” He smiled at her._

_Emily felt her hands tremble at the sight of his smile. “I might.” Her answer was more flirty than she wanted it to be. Stopping at the steps to her building she stood in the cool night air, just watching the air leave her body._

_“How do you like the job so far?” He stood six inches taller than her, looking down into her gray eyes. He was close enough to reach out and touch her. And he wanted to, he wanted to so bad._

_Her breathing sped up as she bit her lower lip. “I like the people.” She was trying to be subtle. She liked him, even if she didn't know him that well, she liked him. Watching him with Olivia, the way he seemed to stumble over himself to protect her at times. It was funny and cute all at the same time. She knew Olivia didn't need him to protect her, but his need to take care of her was completely out of his control. “_

_Yea, there a good bunch.” He looked into her eyes as he moved closer waiting for her to stop him. But when she didn't he just kept moving._

_The two moved in unison until their lips met. Stopping and leaning back Elliot looked to her for approval. The desire in her eyes was all he needed. Tucking the few loose strands of hair on her face behind her ear he put his hand on her cheek and pulled her back to him._

_Emily enjoyed the feel of his lips against hers. His kiss was forceful, but slow and tender. She put one hand on his neck rubbing his ear with her thumb. As his tongue found it's way into her mouth. Running her other hand along his belt till she had his hip and was pulling his body as tightly against her as she could. Neither of them expected this when he offered to walk her home. But were both very okay with it._

_After a moment they stopped kissing and just rested with their foreheads touching, their hands still on each other. Licking his lips Elliot could still taste her on them. He wondered if the rest of her tasted that sweet. Emily moved her hand from his neck to his chest. Through his shirt she could feel his accelerated heart beat. Not to mention his muscles, she couldn't believe how great his chest felt under her hand. She felt her face blush as she wondered if the rest of his body was as muscular as his chest._

_“_ _I should go.” She bit her lower lip again. “I need to get back early, finish some paper work.” “_

_Yea.” Elliot didn't want things to end there. Really he wasn't sure what he wanted to have happen. Whether it was just the beer, or something about her that was drawing him to her, he wasn't ready to call it a night. But she'd made it clear that that was as far as it was going to go, at least for that night._

_“Thank you for walking me home.” Emily still had one hand on his chest and the other on his hip. Every inch of her body was screaming at her to invite him in. Luckily for her, her brain was winning the fight. She still had to go to work with him in the morning._

_“Anytime.” Elliot moved his thumb across her cheek._

_“_ _I'll see you in the morning?” Finally she stepped back and took her hands off him. In doing so he dropped his hands back to his sides._

_“Yea, have a good night.” He stepped off the steps to her building._

_“Goodnight.” Emily turned and unlocked the door. Elliot watched her step inside and stayed until he could no longer see her. Satisfied that she was safely inside he began the walk back to his car._

_The short walk back he found his head spinning. It wasn't the few beers he'd had. He was far from being drunk, or even buzzed. Something about Emily and that kiss. Since the divorce had become final he hadn't even thought about dating. And honestly he wasn't sure that's where this would end up. Hell for all he knew the following day at work Emily might regret everything._

_The following day Elliot walked into work surprised that Emily was already there. Just as he sat at his desk Cragen came into the squad room and gave orders for Fin and Emily to track down a lead on a case. He watched as she grabbed her jacket from her chair and began to follow Fin out. As she passed him she smiled at him with a sweet and innocent but some what deviant smile and he knew she didn't regret a thing._

_“Are you okay?” Olivia's voice broke his train of thought._

_“What?” Elliot turned back to his partner._

_“How much did you drink last night?” She asked half joking about the previous night, but still concerned that he seemed to be unable to focus. “_

_What?” He looked at her trying to pretend he was listening to her._

_“Are you okay?”_

_“I'm good.” He smiled at her then quickly started to shuffle through paper work on his desk._

_“Good, cause were due in court in an hour.” Liv stood up and he followed suit._

_Elliot had no idea what would happen between he and Emily. Whether that kiss was the last he would ever get from her, or just the beginning of something. Either way he was looking forward to finding out._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and giving this story a chance. I will update soon.


	3. Chapter 3

It was five in the morning and no one in the squad had slept since the night before. The evidence against Ellis Nickels lay spread out on a table in an interview room. Elliot sat there looking at each of the previous victims in the pictures. Regardless of how he tried he saw Emily in the face of those women. As much as he wanted to find her and save her from what he knew was coming, he wanted just as much to get his hands on Nickels and kill him slowly.

“He kidnaps, rapes, tortures, and kills. He's a sadist.” Olivia says as she throws a picture on the table of burns on a woman's body. “He used lighters, curling irons, cigarettes, boiling water. What ever he can get his hands on.”

“The ligature marks aren't how he killed them. That was just part of the hell he put them through. He would strangle them until they blacked out.” Fin added to the over all picture of what Nickels did while he had his victims.

“Do we have any idea on where he's been staying this past year? Or why all of the sudden he's come out of hiding?” Cragen asked the room but paid attention to Elliot. He was never one to shy away from a case no matter how appalling the details. Contrary to his usual behavior Elliot was quiet.

“He's been taunting us for the past year.” Liv holds up the stack of news articles Nickels had sent them. “All the post marks are from around the city, he has to be close.”

“Fin go with Liv, start at his last known address. See if he left anything behind when he disappeared. Then go to witness for the last victim, see if she's willing to talk.” Cragen ordered. “Elliot a word.” Turning on his heel he went to his office with Elliot following closely behind. “Shut the door.” He sat at his desk.

Elliot shut the door as instructed. Standing just steps inside the captains office he knew what was coming. In all honesty he thought he would have had this conversation months ago. He and Emily had been on every one's radar. Every one in the squad had asked them about things at least once. They just weren't ready tell anyone. So he stood there and just waited.

“What exactly is the nature of your relationship with detective Sullivan?” Cragen folded his hand in front of him.

“Captain?” Elliot tried to look surprised by the question. Cragen didn't say anything. He didn't need to, the expression on his face said all he needed to. Elliot took a deep breath, uncrossed his arms and put his hands in his pockets. “We were gonna disclose.”

“Are you sleeping with her?” His tone meant business.

Elliot sighed and rubbed his hand over his mouth. “Yes.” He didn't have to say anything else but the events of the past eight hours had taken their toll and his eyes began to tear up. “Captain, were gonna get married.”

Cragen could see the impact this whole thing was having on him. “You know you can't work this case.”

“Captain, we need all the help we can get. Taking me off this won't help us find her any quicker.” The desperation in his eyes, the pain written on his face said more than he could.

“You don't make a move without talking to me first.” Cragen answers the phone. When he hung up he turned back to Elliot. “Let's go, they found her car.” The two men left the office with a purpose. If Nickels used her car to move her they may be a clue as to where he was headed.

The second the car stopped Elliot leaped from it. Jogging to the car there was no doubt in his mind that it was Emily's car. He spent more than a few nights in that car with her. Their lips pressed firmly together, his hand tangled in her hair. Her hand on his knee, leaning toward him. Those quick moments alone before work would interrupt.

Liv stood up after having looked in the back seat. “Duct tape, and there's hair.” She held it up for everyone to see. Elliot walked around to her just as she was putting the tape in a bag. Holding it up he could see the long dark hair. Rubbing the hair between his finger and thumb he wanted this to all be a sick joke. The not knowing what was happening mixed with knowing what Nickels was capable of was threatening to break him.

 

_The squad was in an uproar over the case of a man and woman both claiming the other committed a crime against them. The woman was claiming spousal rape, while the man was claiming that she assaulted him with a taser. It seemed the unit was divided on which story they believed. It seemed to be an all out war of the sexes._

_“_ _They went out to dinner, they went home she took her cloths off in front of_ _him then started kissing him.” Elliot said as they stood in Cragens office._

_“_ _So that means she has to have sex?” Olivia asked throwing her hands in the air._

_“No, but she made it pretty clear that she wanted to.” He retorted._

_“Okay so any time a woman kisses a man she wants to have sex?”_

_“Not every woman, but a married woman that undresses in front of her husband and kisses him as she drags him to the bed room. That's sending a pretty clear signal.”_

_“They were home getting it on, when he calls out another woman's name she loses it. We just have to figure out who drew blood first.” Fin finally chimes in._

_“The marks on her neck are clearly from his hands.” Emily hadn't said anything until then, but she felt she had to say something. When Elliot herd her voice he turned around and locked eyes with her. She knew what he thought, he didn't have to say that he didn't agree with her._

_“He claims that she got pissed after he said the others woman's name and she tased him.” Elliot pulled a picture out of the pile. With both Emily and Olivia opposing his view he felt they weren't going to believe him no matter what he said.“While he was on the ground she grabbed the fire poker and came at him. He had no choice but to defend himself which is where she got the injuries she has.”_

_“ She says that the injuries came from him forcing her to have sex and she had to tase him to get him to stop.” Olivia shook her head in disbelief. It seemed so clear cut to her._

_“There's no proof a sexual act took place.” Elliot began to get heated._

_“And there's no proof one didn't.” Emily countered._

_“Fine, you two want to railroad this guy, go ahead.” He looked at Olivia and Emily. “Do what ever you want. You don't need me here.” The look he gave Emily said it all. He was pissed that she couldn't see what he clearly could. Pulling the office door open forcefully enough to throw it against the wall, he stormed out of the room._

_Emily waited a few minutes before leaving as well. Leaving immediately after him would have seemed odd. Walking out the back door of the building she found Elliot standing next to his car. She looked around to be sure there was no one within ear shot before she began talking. “What was that?” She demanded waving her hand back toward the building._

_“You two appeared to know exactly what happen, you didn't need me.” He moved closer to her so that he didn't have to speak as loud. “Olivia was wrong, but women have to stick together.”_

_“_ _This has nothing to do with women sticking together. The evidence supported her story not his.” She didn't back down as she stood there face to face with him. Elliot shook his head, sighed and walked around to the other side of the car. “What?” She knew he wanted to say something. “You have something to say, say it.”_

_“_ _You should have backed me up in there.”_

_“Oh. I get it.” She rolled her eyes and turned away from him._

_“What?” He came back around the car and began to walk to her. “What do you get?”_

_“Because there's something going on between us you don't think I can have an opinion of my own.” Emily began to raise her voice. Not intentionally, but because she was getting angry._

_Elliot got just inches from her face and whispered. “I've done this a lot longer than you, you should trust my judgment.”_

_“_ _You know what,” she smiled at him. “take your judgment and go to hell.” She'd had enough. Turning on her heel she went back into the building._

_Elliot stood next to his car for a moment before he left. Driving through the city he took a minute to breath and think it all over. 'Something going on' was what she said. They had been spending more time together outside of work. Getting something to eat two or three times a week. Having a few drinks._

_There were even a few nights Elliot had invited Emily over to his place. She_ _was someone he could connect with. She understood the job, and like him she was alone. Since the divorce he spent more time alone than he ever wanted. And Emily was new to town. No family and having not really made any new friends she spent too much time alone as well._

_And sure there had been a lot of kissing, and laying on the couch together. But they hadn't had sex. There was no set date night. She didn't act like she wanted any sort of relationship, and who was he to push something. But did she think this was more than it was. Or at least more than he thought it was. He huffed. He couldn't have been more confused if he tried._

_Parked in front of his house Elliot wondered what had happen. Wondered what was going on between the two of them. He had feelings for her beyond just friends. But even if she felt the same way after that fight she may not any more. Running his hands over his face he didn't know what to do. Just let things go, or go talk to her. He knew from the moment he met her, he was gonna love her or hate her. And at that moment he felt like he may love her, but he hated it._

_Emily walked toward her building in the dark muggy summer air. The day had been a real pain in the ass and all she wanted to do was shower. When she saw someone sitting on the steps to her building she stopped. After a moment she recognized the familiar outline of a man and began walking again. “Elliot.” She said stopping next to him. He looked up at her for a second before he stood up. “What are you doing here?” She asked trying to ignore that he was close enough for her to notice how good he smelled._

_“I don't know.” He moved closer to her._

_“That's a really bad apology.” She knew that would bug him. But he pissed her off earlier that day so she felt that was fair._

_“I didn't come to apologize.” He moved his hand and softly ran his thumb across her cheek._

_“So then what are you doing here?” She put her hand over his and leaned into his touch._

_“I wanted to make sure your were okay.” He wasn't lying. Since their first kiss he began to feel an over whelming feeling of need. Need to see her. Need to be close to her. But most of all a need to protect her._

_“I'm fine, you?” She put one hand on his chest and the other on his belt, just above his zipper._

_“I'm fine.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “You wanna come up?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and giving this story a chance. Feel free to let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

 

Elliot and Olivia stood in the crime lab as a tech explained what was found in the car. “The hair on the duct tape is Emily's.” The tech started.

“I knew that. What else do you have?” Elliot was annoyed. He knew that was her hair. He didn't need people wasting time figuring out things he already knew.

The tech seemed taken back by his attitude. Olivia herself wasn't sure what to make of his strange behavior either. Elliot wasn't usually an asshole on purpose, but at that moment he wasn't even trying to be civil. “There were two different blood types found in the car. One is hers, the other we're working on the assumption is Nickels.” The tech showed them pictures of the stains in the car.

“She fought back.” Liv was thrilled to know that Emily hadn't been drugged.

“Were not sure, but we think she bit him. There was saliva found mixed with the blood.”

“Good.” Elliot was happy to hear that she might be inflicting pain. Especially since he knew she was receiving it.

“We found a key card.” He held it up. “It's for a motel, but we haven't figured out which one.”

Elliot took the key from the tech and left the room. Walking up to Fin he threw the key down on his desk. Fin had worked undercover in narcotics for years and spent more than half that time in and out of every seedy motel in the area. “What motel does that belong to?”

Fin took the card and looked at it front and back. “Twilight Nights, Brooklyn.” The two men began to move. Fin went to inform Cragen. Elliot took Liv by the arm and led her out of the building.

In the car he drove like a bat out of hell. He hurried through the yellow lights, even running a few red ones, rolling through stop signs. He knew she wouldn't be there when they got to the motel. Nickels was to smart to leave that key card in the car and stay at the motel long enough for anyone to find him.

That was what Nickels did. He would move his victims from place to place until he killed them after three days. Elliot had to find her before that 72 hour mark, he was not going to let this end with him having to take Emily back to Maine in a coffin.

Olivia held tightly to the handle above the window. Watching Elliot's face she knew this was more than just another case. Another race to save a victim. She'd questioned what was going on between he and Emily for a while, but felt if he wanted her to know he would tell her. The urgency in his driving, the pain in his face, the almost tears in his eyes. That said it all. He was in love with Emily.

Pulling up to the motel office they rushed inside. Elliot showed the woman working the card and asked what room it belonged to. She gave them the usual response of not knowing, and he almost lost it. Grabbing the woman by the color of her shirt, it didn't matter to him that she was a woman. She was standing between him and Emily. “A cop is missing, and your gonna tell me what room they were in, with or without your jaw being wired shut.” He held the woman just inches from his face.

“215, around back, upstairs.” The woman was almost crying by the time he put her feet back on the ground.

Elliot ran out of the office with Liv hot on his heels. At the door marked with 215 he didn't knock. One swift kick and the door flew open. Guns drawn the two entered the room. The smell was so intense they both had to cover their noses. He hurried to the bathroom. No one was in the room. He knew that before he kicked the door open. But he had to check.

“What is that smell?” Liv asked trying to put the pieces together of what she was seeing. Everything had been thrown around, blood all over the bed, the walls and the floor.

The sound of feet made them turn just as Cragen and Fin reached the door. “They're not here.” Liv told them and everyone put their guns away.

“What the hell is that smell?” Fin asked.

The four began to look over every inch of the room. Fin opened a closet to find a bunch of random items on the floor. At the same time Liv pulled the comforter off the floor to revel a puddle of vomit.

“We need to back out of here and let the techs do their jobs.” Cragen ordered his team out of the room. “Come on, out.”

After two hours of agonizing waiting the techs came to talk to them. He had the things from the closet in evidence bags. Elliot took a deep breath. He didn't want to hear what happen in that little room of horrors. But he had to listen if he had any hope of finding her before it was to late. “Their taking blood samples back to the lab now, we should know soon if it's all her blood.” The man started.

The look on the techs face told the story. He was a seasoned crime scene technician but this was getting to him. “These have human skin cells on them.” He held up an iron and car keys. “We should be able to find DNA in the vomit, see if that's hers. We also found a few pieces of clothing. We'll check them for any fluids as well.”

“That looks like a lot of blood. How bad is she hurt?” Elliot had to ask.

“Even if that's all hers it's hard to tell. It looks like she was thrown around the room quite a bit.”

“Did you find any fluids on the bed or sheets?” You could hear the trembling in his voice as he asked. That was truly the one part of this that he didn't want to think about. The pain she must have gone through was one thing. But rape was so much worse. In his years with SVU he'd seen what that does to women. So much more than just the physical, but the emotional part that was what caused the most damage in the end.

“We did, everything is on it's way back to the lab. That's really all we have right now.” The tech shook his head as he walked away.

Elliot pounded his fist on the hood of the car before turning on his heel and walking away. The others stood there knowing that he was being tormented. But what could they say? So they watched as he walked the edge of the road and fell to his knees. Liv ran to him. Reaching him she knelled down and put her arms around him. Pressing her forehead to the side of his she just held him.

“She's alive.” Liv whispered to him.

“How much more of this can she take?.” He turned to face her just as a tear ran down his cheek. Cragen and Fin watched as the two stayed locked in that embrace. Liv couldn't do anything more than hold him as he broke.

_Elliot, Olivia and Emily sat around a small table and ordered drinks after a long day. They made small talk about the weekend and how they were looking forward to a few days off. Liv and Emily finalized plans to meet the following day for Liv to help Emily pick something to wear to a friends wedding back in Maine. After their first drinks were gone, a tall dark blonde man walks into the bar and nods at Liv. “_

_Well that's my ride.” Liv smiled as she said goodbye, then quickly went to the man and left out of sight._

_Elliot laughed a little. Emily's questioning eyes and raised eyebrow made him explain. “That's Cassidy, it's been an on and off thing.” Emily shrugged her shoulders. “You wanna go to my place. We can order in?” He asked and she shook her head yes._

_He paid the bill and they left the bar. It was summer and hot. Walking down the street they both stopped and held their hands out when they thought they felt rain. A few drops, nothing really. But all of the sudden like bucket being poured the rain fell heavy and fast. Elliot took one of her hands in his and with his other one he placed it on her back and together they ran for his car._

_By the time they got in the car they were sopping wet. They just smiled at one another. Elliot put the key in the ignition and started the car. Emily pulled the rubber band from her hair allowing it to fall around her shoulders. He loved when her hair was down and all a mess. She tried to run her fingers through it, but the natural curl made that impossible. That untouched look drove him nuts._

_There were no spots in front of his building so Elliot had to park almost a block away. With the rain still pounding down on the car they paused. “It's like a shower.” Emily joked knowing all to well there wouldn't be an inch of her dry when they reached the front door of his building. Taking a deep breath the two opened the car doors and ran. I_

_nside his apartment Elliot grabbed two towels. Standing by the front door Emily pulled her shoes and socks off before he handed her a towel which she wrapped it around her shoulders. The rain didn't feel bad outside in the hot summer air. But once inside the cool air conditioning gave her a chill._

_The two stood there motionless for minutes. The water dripping off of them from everywhere. As if he was waiting for permission Emily nodded yes. Elliot dropped his towel and grabbed her. One hand behind her head and one on the small of her back he pulled her to him. As their lips collided she took a hold of his shirt right at his hips and pulled trying to get his body as close to hers as possible._

_Tangled together he moved her slowly away from the door. As they moved they began to strip away their cloths. He pushed the towel off her shoulders then pulled her shirt over her head. Slowly running his fingers down her arms he stopped. “Goosebumps?”_

_“I'm cold.” She answered but didn't slow her hands as they worked quickly to remove his belt. “_

_I'll fix that.” He answered._

_“Okay.” She dropped his belt to the ground._

_They kept moving toward his bed. Losing another piece of clothing with each step. She pulled his shirt over his head letting it fall where it would. Then he bent down and pulled her pants down to her ankle. Placing a hand on his shoulder she stepped out of them. When he stood back up he kissed her as she unbuttoned his pants. She pushed them down over his hips and he was able to just kick them off._

_Both in just their underwear they reached the bed. Elliot sat down as Emily climbed in his lap. His hands traced the bottom of her bra until they met in the back at the hooks. Pausing for a moment he realized she was shaking. “Still cold?”_

_“_ _Nervous.” She leaned back enough to look into his eyes, her hands on his biceps. “It's been a long time.” She bit her lower lip as he moved a hand to her neck. Tenderly he slid her off his lap and laid her on the bed. Laying beside her still with a hand under her neck he took his free hand and with one finger traced a line from her cheek down her neck between her breast, over her stomach to the top of panties._

_Just as he slide his hand inside her panties he kissed her. As his fingers touched her soft, moist folds she moaned into his mouth. Slipping a finger between and inside the pleasure caused her to arc her back. Feeling her body, move from his touch, next to him cause him to become fully erect quick. Laying there allowing him to explore her body she could feel his developing anticipation on her thigh. She moved just enough to be able to pull his boxers down. Once far enough gone he kicked them off the bed. Now with nothing between his growing erection and her body she grasped him with her hand._

_Throwing his head back in ecstasy his eyes rolled back in his head. Just her touch could have been enough to send him right over the edge. She took her free hand and pulled him back to her, his face ending up on her chest. Taking a breath he started kissing her. At first just below her color bone. One kiss after another, moving down to her breast._

_Taking his hand from her panties he continued kissing her chest as he unhooked her bra. Pulling it from her shoulders he let fall to the side. Cupping her right breast in his hand he placed his mouth over the nipple of the other. Gently he nibbled. The delight of his mouth on her body cause her to tighten her grip on him._

_He needed to stop her before she ended things with just her hand. So he took both her hands in his one and put them above her head. Her hands were so much smaller than his he was able to hold them tightly with just his one. With his free hand he pulled her panties down until she was able to free one leg. Placing one knee between her legs he spread her apart before putting his other leg between hers._

_T_ _here naked hoovering just inches about her soft, small body he couldn't wait. But again he paused as if needing approval. Emily looked at him with his wanting eyes. She nodded yes and he kissed her neck. With one motion he pushed inside her slowly. She raised her hips to meet his wanting to feel every bit of him._

_Still holding her hands in his one he put his free hand under her back and took a hold of her shoulder. Holding her tight as he began to thrust harder, deeper. He was no longer in need of approval. The primal sounds coming from her said all he needed to hear. When he released her hands she pulled at his hip. Meeting his every thrust with her own._

_In what seemed like one swift motion Elliot pulled away from her and flipped her to her stomach. With one hand on her shoulder he guided himself back inside of her. Turning back to see his face she smiled a devilish smirk as he entered her from behind. He began to move in and out, over and over, quicker and quicker._

_Reaching around he gripped her breast while he buried his face against her skin. Biting and kissing down her neck and shoulder. Leaving faint marks along his trail. As she reached the point of no return she dug her nails into his bed sheets and cried out his name. One last thrust and he felt her clench around his throbbing erection. And in unison they both came in a furry of pleasure._

_Laying on their backs looking at the ceiling they had nothing but a sheet to cover them. After a moment Emily moved to place her head on his chest. Locking her hand in his on his stomach she just laid there with him. The moment was perfect, neither wanted to move for anything. For the time being there was nothing else in the world. Just them._

_After catching his breath and replaying the entire event in his mind Elliot had a question. When he turned on her stomach he noticed a small tattoo under her shoulder blade. A small rose with a date. “I noticed a tattoo.”_

_“That's a story for another time.” She smiled at him. He kissed her on the forehead and let it go. He had her, he didn't care what the story was about the tattoo._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think so far. I hope everyone is enjoying so far.


	5. Chapter 5

At the squad room the detectives felt broken and beaten. They hadn't slept in close to 30 hours and Nickels trail had gone cold. By the time they got back from the motel the tech was able to confirm that the vomit left in the motel room was in fact Emily's. Another thought seared into Elliots mind. Emily put through so much pain that it caused her to vomit. Sitting at a table in an interview room with his head in his hands he started to question his job.

All these years of putting sick and twisted people away. All the people he helped. And now the one person he loved more than anything, outside of his kids, he couldn't help. Hell he didn't even know where she was. How was this gonna end? Was Emily gonna be another news paper clipping? Addressed to him? A dead cop always made a great head line. And horrid details would be published for all to read.

A second thought entered his mind. Something else the tech said. The panties found in the motel were Emily's. Her DNA and Nickels were found on them. But there was a third sample found. All they knew was the third was a male. What was Nickels doing that another man's DNA was found in her panties. The thoughts flooded his mind.

When the door to the room opened Elliot looked up quickly hoping for some news. Something good, bad or indifferent, he would settle for anything. Cragen stood looking at him with a puzzled look on his face. He didn't know what to do about Elliot. He wanted to help him, but there was nothing he could do to ease his pain. “Go home, get some sleep.”

“You know I can't do that.”

“You have to sleep, you can't help her if your too sleep deprived to think straight.”

“I'll sleep here. But I'm not going home.” He wasn't negotiating and Cragen could see that.

Laying his head on the pillow Elliot tried to close his eyes but sleep just evaded him. Every time things went dark he could see her face. Duct tape over her mouth and tears streaming down her cheeks. She was always close, but far enough that he couldn't touch her. God how he wanted to touch her.

“Ell...” A whisper woke him and he shot straight up.

“Emily!” On his feet he looked all around him.

“Ell, it's me.” Liv placed her hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to the present. “Nickels just robbed a convent store.” She watched as he nodded and they were sprinting out the door.

Fin and Cragen beat him to the location. Running inside he found another horror show. A man lay on the floor dead and a woman being taken past them on a stretcher. “I'm gonna ride with her.” Liv took the woman's hand as she was rushed out the door and into the back of an ambulance.

“Nickels killed him and shot her. The paramedics think she'll pull through.” Fin showed him around the store.

“Do the cameras work?” Elliot asked the second he saw them.

“We're about to watch the tapes now.”

The three men stood around a small screen as the tape began to play. Fast forwarding to the part where Nickels enters the store they watched looking for any sign that Emily was still alive. Nickels walked into the store wearing a black sweat shirt, a hat and sun glasses, but they had no doubt it was him. Walking up to the clerk he pulled a gun, and without hesitation he shot the guy. After the man hit the ground Nickels furiously he ran through the store and snatched up items stuffing them in a duffle bag he'd brought in with him. Leaving the store a woman in a black SUV pulled into the parking lot.

Just as the woman opened her door Nickels rushed her and shot her. The woman fell and he stepped over her to get in the car and the he moved next to another car parked just feet away. When he opened the door to the second car Elliot held his breath. He prayed silently to himself. He just needed to see her, see that she was still alive, still fighting.

Nickels pulled a woman from the car violently. She fell down which appeared to piss him off. Grabbing a hand full of hair Nickels pulled the woman to her feet. Shaking her head to the side she managed to get the hair out of her face. Finally able to get a good look at her Elliot knew instantly it was her.

“That's her! She's alive!”He watched intently. Emily's long dark hair was dirty and knotted. Her hands were tired in front of her with rope. She was wearing nothing but a tee-shirt. But Elliot knew the the shirt. “That's my shirt.” It was his NYPD shirt she loved to wear. Standing there in the cold air with nothing on but that shirt, not even shoes he could see that she was shaking.

That moment, watching her in his tee-shirt. Cold, beaten, tied up and alone with that deviant. Elliot swallowed the lump in his throat as he balled up his fist. He could feel his body began to shake in unison with hers. Fear and anger radiated through out him as he thought of the things he would do if he got his hands on Nickels.

On the tape Nickels pulled Emily toward the second car. When she refused to move like he wanted he pointed the gun at her head. Still she refused. Staring him down almost daring him to pull the trigger. “What is she doing?” Elliot knew that bullheadedness, it had almost gotten her killed before and was close to doing that very thing at that moment. With no sound on the tape the only way of knowing the gun went off was the flash of light. Turning his head away quickly he didn't want to see. He held his breath, bracing for the worst.

“She's alive, he didn't shoot her.” Fin patted Elliot on the shoulder.

Looking back at the tape he could breath again. Nickels fired close enough to her that she fell to the ground in fear. When she looked up at him he hit her in the face with the butt of the gun. Then drug her by pulling the roped tied around her wrist, to the SUV before driving away.

“We have to find that car.” He rubbed his temples. The pain between his eyes was becoming unbearable. “We ran the plates, every cop in the city is looking for it.”

“She's still fighting, she hasn't given up. That's good.” Cragen tried to reassure Elliot. But he knew that wasn't always a good thing. Fighting back could make Nickels turn on her, kill her. But on the other hand if she still had that much fight left in her then maybe she had enough to hold out until he found her. She did stand there and wait for him to shoot her. What had he been doing to her that she would rather him shoot her than get in another car with him. He had to put that out of his mind. They were closing the gap and he had to get to her.

“Elliot” Cragen yelled a few feet away. Fin walked with him to Elliot. “The car he was driving was registered to a woman in the next city. You and Fin go check it out, I'm gonna meet Liv at the hospital see if our vic has anything helpful to say.”

Fin drove in silence to their destination. What could he say that would really be of any comfort to Elliot. He'd been there for every step of the case against Nickels. He knew what a sick monster the guy was. And it was more than clear now how he felt for Emily. He wasn't trying to hide it anymore. He couldn't. He was just barley getting by let alone trying to hide anything.

And Fin could understand. He'd been partners with Emily since the day she walked into the unit. She was so much younger than him. In a way he began to feel like she was a younger sibling. When she annoyed him, or they didn't see eye to on something. She really bugged this shit out of him at times. But he liked her. She was a good cop, and a really good person. He just hoped she could hold onto that after all of this.

Elliot didn't care anymore. Everyone knew about him and Emily and the last thing he cared about at that point in time was his job. He had to find her. Save her from the hell she was going through. The chips could fall where they would when it was all over and done. If he still had his job great. If not, oh well. As long as he had her safe with him the rest would work it's self out.

_Elliot opened his door knowing already who was on the other side. Emily walked inside and dropped her bag right there by the door. He waited for her to take her shoes off, which she did every time she walked through the door, and kissed her on the forehead. The pair sat on the couch, one on each end. Grabbing her feet he placed them on his stomach and began to rub them. “Ruff day at the office?” He asked her._

_“Every wonder if it's worth it? You put one away and ten more pop up. No matter what you do it will never end. There is a never ending supply of these sickos.” She pulled the band from her hair and let it fall all curly and crazy. “_

_You know what...” He moved her feet off of him and stood up. “I've got just what you need.”_

_She moved her head to watch him walk into the kitchen. Wearing dark blue sweat pants and an old tee-shirt he looked so relaxed. She needed to figure out his trick. “You know sex doesn't solve everything right?”_

_“_ _Depends on who your having sex with.” He sat back down and pulled her feet back up_ _. She looked at him like he'd lost his mind. He'd gotten up for something, but just sat back down. “Here.” Finally he shows her the bag of skittles._

_“How'd you know that would make it all better?” She tore the bag open and poured a bunch in her hand. Then put all of them in her mouth at once. She liked to have all the flavors mix together. Each taste alone was bad, but mixing them all together was awesome._

_“I'm a detective, it's my job to know these things.” He started rubbing her feet again._

_For a moment she just sat there, laid her head back and closed her eyes. His big strong hands knew all the right places to push, squeeze and rub. “You know I have that wedding coming up in a few weeks..” she paused to see if he would say anything. The look on his face said he knew what she was talking about. “Think you might wanna go with me?”_

_“To Maine?”_

_“Yea, it'll be fun to just get away from all this. Besides when was the last time you took time off work?”_

_“What's in it for me?” He looked at her with those hungry eyes and she knew what he wanted. Rolling her eyes she shook her head. The more time they spent together the more he seemed to loosen up be able to joke with her. That must have been his trick to relax._

_“Sex?”_

_“Okay, sure.”_

_“Great, I'm glad I could persuade you.” She moved her feet from his hands and sat up. Kissing him she put her hand on his head and moved him until his head was in her lap. One hand in his hair and the other on his should she looked down into his steely blue eyes._

_“Why did you come all the way here from Maine?” He'd wanted to know for some time but there were so few time to just sit and talk._

_“I worked in homicide for almost two years when another detective made a pass.” Emily took a deep breath. “I tried to turn him down nicely, but some guys need a slap in the face to get the point. We were at a bar one night, him and I and six other cops. Playing pool just killing time. He grabbed my ass and I turned and slapped him.”_

_“That's sexual harassment, didn't he get in trouble?” Elliot knew the answer but asked anyway._

_“_ _The following day my captain explained that since I had slapped him the two canceled each other out and just keep our hands to ourselves. But his pride had been hurt and in the following weeks he had everyone convinced that we'd slept together, a lot.”_

_“Bullshit.”_

_“Yea, by the time the whole thing made it's way through all the different channels the rumors included me sleeping with my captain. When it was all said and done I had to leave and they made my captain take early retirement. I felt so bad about everything I knew I couldn't just switch precincts, I had to go where no one knew me. Where no one knew anyone I knew either. So I landed here. ” She leaned down to kiss him. “_

_Lucky me.”_

_“You know it.” She tapped him on the shoulder making him get up. “I need a shower.” Making her way to the shower she peeled away her cloths._

_Letting the hot water run over her body she breathed in the steam. Just as she was getting her hair wet the shower door opened and Elliot stood there naked. Getting in with her she smiled. This was nothing new. If he was around when she showered he'd join her. Not that she was complaining. “So your going with me then?” She asked as he kissed her neck._

_“Yes.” He answered as he got done to the business at hand._

_After forty five minutes in the shower they had no choice but to get out. They'd run out of hot water. Standing in front of the mirror she wiped the steam from the glass. A towel wrapped around her body and her hair dripping wet she looked at her reflection. Moving closer to the reflective glass she had to look twice, but there it was, a mark. Elliot had left a hickey on her shoulder. “Detective Stabler?” She summoned him._

_Peaking his head around the door he looked at her. “Do you see what you've done?”_

_He had no idea what she was talking about so he had to get closer. “What is that?” He asked looking at the small mark on her shoulder._

_“That's from you, jaws. You and your teeth.”_

_“_ _That's not from me, you must have run into something.” He turned and went back to the bedroom to find something to throw on._

_“Look, not that I don't enjoy what you do, cause I do...”_

_“I know.”_

_“Anyway! We're not in high school and I'm not going to work all marked up like some girl after prom.” She folded her arms over her towel. He looked at her as if he didn't know what she was talking about. “Behave between the sheets or there will be no between the sheets.” She tried to sound sassy. He had to laugh. “Fine laugh at me.”_

_Elliot put on a pair of boxer briefs and slid into bed. Laying there he watched as she went to his dresser and pulled out an old tee shirt of his. Knowing that she had nothing on besides that shirt turned him on. When she walked to the bed he pulled back the blanket for her. Laying down she moved getting as close to him as she could. With her head on his chest and his arm around her she was sound asleep in minutes._

_The nights they spent together were becoming more frequent. And in those nights she found that she slept so soundly, peacefully. Like she hadn't slept since she was a child. Maybe it was because for the first time in as long as she could remember she was truly happy. Or maybe it was because she felt so safe in his arms. Either way, she was happy to sleep next to him every night if that's what he wanted._


	6. Chapter 6

Elliot looked out the window as Fin pulls up to the address matching the one on the registration for the car Nickels stole. It was a large brick building with a sign on the front that said 'Golden Days' on the front above the doors. “This is a dam retirement home.” Fin looked at Elliot like there had to be some kind of mistake.

The two men walk inside and ask for the person named as the owner of the car. “Mr. Parsons is in room 134, to the right around the corner.” The woman at the reception desk pointed to the right. Elliot and Fin walked down the hall. Passing room after room filled with little old people barley able to feed themselves.

When they reached the door marked 134 they walked inside. Sitting in a chair facing the window a white haired old man sat. Slowly they approached him unsure of weather he could hear them or not. “Mr. Parsons?” Elliot spoke. The shrunken and aged body didn't answer. So he placed his hand on his shoulder.

The old man turned and looked up at the two men standing over him. A giant smiled formed on the mans face as he stood and shook their hands. “Kevin” The man finally spoke while holding Elliots hand. “I'm so glad you came back for a visit.”

It was more than obvious the old man thought he was someone else. But that didn't stop him from asking about the car. “Yea, I actually came to ask you about your car Mr. Parsons.” Elliot spoke softly and just went with the mans delusion.

“I just took it to get the oil changed yesterday.” The small man shuffled from one spot to another. Fin looked at Elliot. There was no way that man was driving in the past year let alone the past few days.

“Do you remember where you left your car after you had the oil changed?” Fin asked.

“I parked it in the garage, you don't leave a car parked on the street in this neighborhood.”

“Thank you Mr Parsons. We really need to be going.” Elliot shook his hand again and after a lot of goodbyes and comeback agains they were finally able to leave the room.

In the hall they found a nurse who explained that Mr. Parsons was only there for a month. His care had become to much for his family and they had no choice but to leave him there. They were still fighting over what to do with all his possessions, that included his car. Before they left they showed her a mug shot of Nickels and asked if she had ever seen him.

When she said yes Elliot felt his knees buckle. The woman told them that Nickels came a few times to see a nurse by the name of Jill Evans. She wasn't working that day, but woman said she lived close cause she walked to work. They turned on their heels and ran to the car. Radioing back to the station they gave her name and waited for them to run it and give them an address.

They were getting close. Elliot held the radio in his hand with a death grip. He counted the seconds waiting for a response. This woman could know exactly where Nickels was at that moment. Fin could see the anguish on his face as he waited. His knuckles were white from holding so tightly to the radio. “We're gonna find her.” He shook his head trying to offer some comfort. No matter how small. Elliot just sighed. “She's strong if any one can get through this it's her.”

When the voice came of the radio Elliot wrote down the address and Fin started the car. Withing 90 seconds they were knocking on Jill's door. When the woman opened the door she was genuinely surprised. “Jill Evans?” Elliot asked, to which the woman respond with a nod yes. “Do you know this man? Goes by the name of Ellis Nickels.” He held up the mug shot of Nickels.

“No” She said matter of factly. But her sudden change in body language told them otherwise.

“You need to come with us.” Fin took her by the arm before Elliot could move. The fear was that if he got his hands on her he didn't know what would happen. He'd been wound so tight.

“I don't know anything!” She protested as the men pulled her out of her door.

Elliot was done. He'd given her a chance to be honest. Taking her down to the station was going to take time. Time of which he was running out of. Grabbing the woman by both arms he turned her to him. But instead of being angry and forceful, he was gentle and composed. “Listen to me.” He looked into her eyes and spoke quietly. “A cop is missing.”

“I told you I don't know anything.” She tried to dismiss him.

“This man your covering for, the one that you've been seen with, he's taken a cop. And he's going to kill her, soon. He's done evil things to women. Now you can help us find him and keep him from killing her, or you can just wait till he comes back to you. And you'll be the next one in the morgue, with nothing more than a tag on your toe to identify you.” Elliot pleaded with eyes.

“He told me his name was Kindle.” She sighed deeply. “We went on a few dates, he seemed nice.”

“Do you know where he lives? Or works?” Elliot prodded for information.

“I don't know where he lives. And he said he didn't have to work. Something about getting money from an Aunt. That's all I know I swear.” She couldn't look him in the eye. Elliot let go of the woman, and he and Fin went back to the car. On the way back to the station he called Liv. Telling her of Nickels alias and so posed aunt. She told him she would see what she could find.

When Elliot walked through the door of the squad room Liv came to him with a smile on her face. He knew she had something good. “Kindle Ellis Nickels. His aunt.” Liv had a picture. The woman had been in the new paper many different times. She owned several different business and had more money Opera. “Were tracking down her last know address right now. She fell off the grid a few years ago so it may take some time, but were closing in on him. Were gonna find him.” For the first time since she knew Nickels had Emily, Liv truly believed that they would find Emily before he could kill her.

“Elliot!” Cragen yelled from his office motioning for him. Liv wondered what was going on, so she followed him. Warner was waiting next to Cragen when they walked in. “Shut the door.” Liv shut the door. When that request was made that usually meant something troubling was coming.

“What?” Elliot asked fearing the worst. The medical examiner waiting for him in his captains office. He took a deep breath in and held it, waiting for the news that Emily's body was waiting in the morgue.

“We found your semen on Emily's underwear.” Warner stated mater of factly.

Liv turned and looked at him. Elliot himself was confused. They'd had sex the night before she went missing. But she showered and put on clean cloths the following morning. He'd seen that with his own eyes. So how was his semen on the underwear she was wearing when she was taken.

“You don't think I had anything to do with any of this do you?” He asked looking at each one of them in the room. If any one thought he had anything to do with any of it they were out of their minds.

“No, but it doesn't look good.” Cragen answered. “Watch every move you make. Nickels is trying to set you up for this.”

_Elliot held the door open for Emily and Liv as they walked into the bar. Another week over and everyone wanted something to kill the edge they were feeling. Finding a spot in the corner the women sat while he got drinks. “Meeting Brian tonight?” Emily asked Liv while they waited._

_“Yea, were so post to see a movie. What are you doing tonight?” Liv checked her phone to be sure that Brian hadn't canceled._

_“Shower and bed.” Emily lied to Liv while she watched Elliot come back with their drinks. The truth was that after Liv left her and Elliot were going back to her place. They still hadn't disclosed to the department. They weren't sure they ready to tell anyone just yet._

_Elliot sat the drinks on the small table. “What about you, what are you doing tonight?” Liv asked him as he sat down. Emily looked at him and smirked, curious about what he would come up with on the spot._

_“There's a game on.” He was quick tying to sound convincing._

_After about twenty minutes Liv left for her date with Brian, and Elliot was alone with Emily. He'd waited all day to get her alone. To talk to her without having to worry about who was listening or watching. He knew people were beginning to wonder about them. Their faces said it all. When they would say certain things or look at each other for too long. They would have to disclose to the department if things kept going for much longer. As far as he was concerned he didn't see it ending anytime soon._

_“She knows something is going on between us.” Emily said nonchalantly referring to Olivia._

_“Did she say something to you?” Elliot stopped. Frozen by the thought that if the department found out before they disclosed it could cause both of them a sizable amount of trouble._

_“No, but just the way she looks at me and you. She knows.”_

_“How can you be sure?”_

_“Trust me I know.” She finished her drink and picked up her bag. “Ready?”_

_Elliot tipped his glass back and finished off his beer. Shaking his head yes he stood. As she walked around the table he placed his hand on the small of her back when she got close to him. Walking through the bar they had to move in between people. It was Friday and the place was filling up fast. When two men begin to argue neither of them can wait to get out the door._

_Just as they reached the two arguing drunks, one man pushed the other causing him to fall backwards into Emily. Ultimately causing her to fall back into Elliot. “Come on asshole.” Emily fumed, annoyed that people couldn't just act like adults._

_Both drunk men turned toward them. “Bitch what is your problem.” The shorter of the men seemed to be more aggressive, but both were ready for a fight._

_Emily looked at them like they had lost their mind. They both looked like they were primed to jump. Little did they know, but she wasn't afraid of them. At this point she was pissed and just as ready. If one of them started it, she would end it. She was pigheaded and had never been one to back away from a fight regardless of it be with a woman or a man._

_Before she could say another word Elliot moved. Stepping in front of her he stood face to face with both men. “This is where it ends.” He smirked at the men. Almost daring them. Never having been the kind of man to stand back and watch another man hit a woman, he wasn't about to let this happen. Much less let it happen to Emily. Who he was becoming more and more protective over._

_“Bitch had to get her boyfriend to protect her.” The man puffed out his chest like an animal._

_Elliot stood there between them surprised when Emily was the one to launch forward trying to get a hold of the other. Turning he took her by the shoulders to stop her. “Hey, let's go. There's no point.”_

_Emily turned her look of hate from the men to Elliot. Starring at him for a second before pushing past him and heading out the door. He turned back to the men to be sure they stayed put before he left out the door as well._

_Outside he looked in both directions before he found her half way down the block. She was moving fast. He had to jog to catch up to her. After he called her name three times he grabbed her arm turned her to him. “Hey, whats your problem?” He knew she was mad. The moment was over he couldn't understand what she was still so pissed about._

_“I don't need you to protect me.” She hissed at him before turning back around to walk away. All she wanted at that moment was to get away from him. She'd been on her own for years and never needed anyone to take care of her. The fact that he stepped in the middle of something she had complete control over made her furious._

_Elliot was baffled. He chased her down, again grabbing her. “Wait a minute your not seriously pissed at me?” As he saw it he did nothing wrong._

_“I didn't need you to stop that asshole.” She pulled away from his grasp._

_“Those two drunks were going to knock the shit out of you. What was I so post to do sit back and watch?”_

_“You don't know what would have happen cause you had to play big bad hero and save the poor little damsel in distress.” Her voice began to amplify through the night air._

_“I stopped them from hitting you, and then stopped you from assaulting them and I'm the bad guy?” Elliot began to yell to match her tone._

_“I'm not some helpless woman that needs a man to take care of me. So if that's what you think this is, then maybe you need to find someone else to diddle.”_

_He took her by the arms and pulled her close to him. “I never said you were just a helpless woman, and if you think this is just about sex then your delusional.” Letting go of her he ran his hands over his face. “I'm going home.” Turning around he walked in the opposite direction of her. Emily took a deep breath before she herself turned and walked home._

_Locking her door behind her Emily kicked her shoes off. Sitting on her couch she wondered what Elliot meant by what he said. It seemed like he was more upset by her saying she thought what every it was between them was just about sex. She'd spent all that time thinking that was all he thought it was that she she didn't even consider anything else. What if it wasn't just sex? What if he felt more?_

_Laying back on her couch she watched the blades of the ceiling fan go around and around. Okay so maybe he felt something for her. What did she feel for him. She enjoyed spending time with him. When he walked in the squad room in the mornings her heart would beat a little faster. The nights they spent apart, she spent thinking about him. He was the last one she talk to at night, and the first one in the morning. Even if it was just through text, it still meant something._

_“Shit!!!” She groaned to the empty room. The realization hit her and for a moment she couldn't breath. It was so much more than just sex. She knew she would have to make it right somehow._


	7. Chapter 7

 

It had been nearly 40 hours since Emily disappeared and Elliot hadn't stopped moving. Waiting for news on Nickels aunt, he gave into his own exhaustion. On a bottom bunk he laid his head on the pillow and closed his eyes. He was able to sleep this time. Not by choice, if it were up to him he wouldn't sleep again until they found her. But his body wouldn't let him.

Olivia walked to where she knew Elliot was laying down. Kneeling down next to him she gently put her hand on his shoulder and shook him saying his name softly. He opened his eyes and looked at her. “We just got a tip, someone said they say Nickels going into an empty house across the street from them.” She stood up in unison with him.

Walking toward the door Cragen stood next to Fin and Munch. “You can't go.” Cragen held his hand up to stop Elliot.

“Captain?” Elliot questioned.

“If Nickels is there the last thing we need is you there when we arrest him. Nickels is already trying to set you up for some part of this.” Cragen understood why he wanted to go, but he couldn't allow it.

“I can't just stay here.” He stood there begging with his eyes. But he knew he was going with or without Cragens okay.

Cragen knew without a doubt that Elliot was going. “Fine, but you stay in the car until we secure the scene.”

Elliot sat in the passenger seat as Cragen drove. He watched as the buildings went by. One after another, then turning into houses. Nice family homes with children playing in the yards. Even with lights and sirens running it seemed like they weren't going fast enough. Then again they could have been on a jet breaking the sound bearer and that wouldn't be fast enough for him.

The houses started to become more run down as they got further into a bad part of town. Abandoned, burned down, meth labs, this would be the perfect place for a murder to take a victim. No one would question any one taking a woman into a house against their will. And no one would call the cops for risk of exposing their own misdeeds.

Tires squealing they turned on the road they were looking for. Elliots hand tightened around the handle above the window as his anxiety grew. He wanted nothing more than to scoop Emily up in his arms and pull her from the nightmare that was the past two days. If he could just hold her he knew he could make things better. He just had to get his arms around her.

Stopping in front of the house their car was surrounded by swat cars, ambulances and other local police cars. “Stay here!” Cragen instructed him before getting out of the car and following the swat team inside the house.

Elliot stepped out of the car and walked toward the house. He didn't care about losing his job, or the case against Nickels. He had to find her. No matter what it cost him. Standing on the porch he held his breath as he stopped just outside the door. Gun drawn he was ready for what every waited inside.

Cragen appeared in the door way no longer holding his gun. “There's no one here.”

The team searched the house looking for anything that could lead them to where Nickels was. Fin answered his phone when it rang and everyone waited hoping something that could help was being revealed on the other end of the line.

“They pulled Kindles Nickels finances. Three years ago all her bank accounts were closed except one. A shared account with a Ellis Kelly. Now someone takes eight hundred dollars a week from that account.” Fin looked at everybody. They were all thinking the same thing.

“That must be where's he's getting his money.” Liv said. “Where is he withdrawing the money from?”

“An ATM upstate.” Fin answered.

“We have to find any property under any of those names in that area. He has be keeping a place under his aunts name.”

Elliot felt completely defeated. Nickels had an endless amount of money and it seemed just as many places to hide. And each time they came up empty handed the more time they lost and the further Emily could be getting from them.

_Elliot laid on the hotel bed watching TV. Alone with no work, no kids, no Emily and he was in Maine, a place he'd never been before. He was truly out of his element. He and Emily had come for a wedding. Both leaving at the same time would have raised to much suspicion. He requested the time off weeks in advance. Which left Emily to lie to get out of work without people asking questions._

_As much as she hated to do it Emily lied to the captain. Claiming a death in the family back in Maine. No one knew to much about her so they didn't know weather she really had family back in Maine or not. And death was always such a touchy subject that no one really ever asked to many questions anyway. The day of the flight she went into Cragens office and talk to him. After a few minutes she talked to Fin, to catch him up on where she was with cases. And left._

_Elliot was glad to get away with her. They hadn't spent a whole weekend together without being interrupted by work. So four whole days with just her seemed like a dream. The first night was amazing. But the following morning she was out the door by eight. She was a bridesmaid and had to be fitted for a dress. So at noon he was still alone waiting to hear from her. Laying in the bed with his head against the wall the silence finally over took him and his eyes became to heavy to hold open any longer._

_When Emily returned Elliot had fallen asleep. He wasn't use to the silence or the alone time. “I'm sorry.” She shut the door behind her and watched as he tried to pretend he hadn't fallen asleep. “I had no idea it would take so long. Apparently my friends remember me being much larger.” She shook her head as she began to take her jeans off._

_“_ _Larger?” Elliot almost laughed. She looked at him annoyed that he thought it was humorous._

_“_ _Yea, the dress woman said it's gonna have to come in about three sizes.” She pulled her shirt off and began to rummage through his suitcase._

_“_ _What are you looking for?” He was still have laughing at the thought of her in a large ugly dress._

_“One of your shirts. And I swear to god if you don't quiet laughing about this I'm gonna kill you and hide your body in the mattress.”_

_Elliot got off the bed and walked to her. He reached in his bag and grabbed the shirt he knew she was looking for. An old gray NYPD shirt that she wore every time she was at his place. Standing there he began to kiss her. Pushing his body against hers until she was against the wall. Emily arched her hips to push back against him. He grabbed her legs and pulled her up so that he was holding her with her legs on both sides of his hips. With her arms around his neck and still kissing him, she let him carry her to the bed._

_The following day they had lunch with Emily's friends. And afterwards she showed him around her old neighborhood. Showing him where she grew up and went to school. Telling him all about her childhood and why she chose to become a cop. He enjoyed having that time with just her. “I have one more place I wanna go, you don't have to go if you don't want. It's not exactly fun. But I go every time I come home.”_

_Elliot agreed to go with her. Even after she told him that she was going to a cemetery. She'd told him a while ago about her parents dying when she was just seventeen and having been on her own since. He respected her greatly for that. She'd been on her own since a young age, no family and she somehow made it._

_Walking up to a large tombstone he held her hand. He wasn't expecting anything strange, but when he got close enough he could see that there was not just two names on the stone, but instead there were three. It was odd. The third name was just one single name with a single date under it. He didn't know weather to ask her about it or to just ignore it. Until he realized that he'd seen that date before. In fact he'd seen it the night before, on Emily's back. It was the date under the small rose tattoo on her back._

_“That's the same as your tattoo?” He half questioned and half said._

_“Gabriel, my son.” Emily leaned down and wiped away dirt from the name._

_Elliot just waited, what could he say? He had no idea that she'd ever had a child or that he had passed. And even if he had known what could he really say? He'd never lost a child and the thought of losing one was enough to buckle his knees._

_“I was twenty two and had only been out of the academy for year.” Emily began but never looked away from the stone. “I'd gotten into a fight with some druggie that resulted in me needing stitches. When the ER doc ran blood work, and that's how I found out. I told the father and he made it clear that he wanted no part of me or him.” She took a deep breath. Standing up she looked Elliot in the eye. “I knew it would be hard. But I never wanted anything more in my life.”_

_Elliot kissed her on the forehead. Tears were forming in her eyes but she didn't let them fall. “How?” He asked her._

_“I was about twenty weeks along, on desk duty, because you can't have a pregnant woman running down perps or getting shot at. I was at work and started bleeding. The doctors said the placenta detached from the uterine wall. There was nothing they could do. I put him with my parents. If I can't take care of him I couldn't think of anyone better to do it.”_

_He wrapped his arms around her. He hated to see her in pain. If there was anything he could to take it away he would in a heart beat. “I know I'll get another chance someday. But I still love him so much.” Pulling back from him she kisses her hand and touches the stone._

_“You're gonna be an amazing mother.” Elliot walked with her hand and hand back to the car. He had no idea that she'd ever went through anything like that. Just knowing that she wanted to be a mother made him feel something more about her. Something he didn't think he'd feel for another woman after things with his wife._

_At he car he stopped and kissed her on the cheek. Standing there with his face just inches from hers he looked into her eyes. “I love you.” He said in that stoic almost stern voice._

_Emily starred at him surprised. That was the last thing she expected from him, especially at that moment. Cemetery's didn't usually insight that type of reaction. And he knew that, but the past two days with just her, no work, they had brought things to the surface that were easy not to see when you have a million different things going on. And then her opening up about her past. He had thought a lot about it in the past few months, but that moment solidified it for him. Now all he could do was hope that she felt the same way about him._

_“You have very strange timing Elliot Stabler.” She leaned up and kissed him. “I love you too.”_

_The following night was the wedding. Of course Emily looked ridiculous in her dress. That's the point of the bridesmaid's dress after all. And after a good laugh they spent the night drinking. He wasn't much of a dancer. But he enjoyed watching her dance with her friends. He'd never seen her with close friends. Just doing her thing, letting go and just having fun._

_Emily stood at the side of the dance floor when a slow song came on. When she felt a hand on her back she didn't have to turn around, she knew it was him, and she smiled. Elliot lead her out on the dance floor. One hand in hers and the other on her hip. Her head on his shoulder and her hand on his arm. He held her close to him. Moving around and around on that floor there was no one else there in that moment. Just him and her. If there was a heaven on earth, for those three minutes that song played, he was in it with her._


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

In the squad room everyone worked frantically to find a new place to look for Emily. Everyone was aware of the 72 hour deadline that was less than fifteen hours away. Given the time crunch and the enormous guilt Elliot was clearly feeling Cragen took the time to stop at his desk and check on him.

Sitting at the chair beside Elliots desk he spoke quietly. “Are you okay?”

“Were running out of time.” Elliot couldn't look him in the eye.

“We'll find her.”

“Every time we get close he's gone by the time..”

Fin could hear what was being said. “Nickels may keep her alive longer than the rest of his victims.” He started and Cragen and Elliot turned to look at him. “He knows were looking for her. He enjoys taunting us. And he thinks he's gonna be able to pin this all on Elliot. He may keep her alive longer just to torment us.”

While they sat there looking at each other thinking about this new revelation all of their phones sounded at once. All four of them received a text at the same time. Pulling their phones out they all looked at one another wondering what was happening. 'You have mail' showed on each of their phones.

Cragen, Liv, Fin and Elliot each opened their email. But Elliot was the only one that had received anything. The others gathered around his desk as he opened the file. It was another video. Emily was on a hard wood floor in the corner of a room. Her hands were still tied in front of her with rope. There was something over her eyes, a blindfold of some kind with duct tape around it. “Jesus.” The only word Elliot could muster up.

Nickels was holding the camera by hand. The shakiness gave that much away. Looking down at Emily he kicked her in the leg. “Get up!” His voice was harsh and deep as he ordered her up. She did as she was instructed. Standing there she was still in just Elliots shirt. It was stained with all sorts of different bodily fluids. What skin was exposed was cover with bruises, cuts, burns and dry blood.

“Tell me you love me.” The voice spoke again. Elliot gritted his teeth. Emily just stood there. “Fine, walk.” An arm came into view and pulled her by the hand until she started moving. They moved through a house until they reached a door. Opening it he pushed her through it. Then pulled her by the hands down a few concert stairs. The ground had small patches of snow and Nickels was sure to zoom in on Emily's bare feet in a patch of snow and dirt.

“Take this.” He handed her a shovel which she held with her bound hands. Elliot stood there waiting for her to swing it at Nickels. But she just stood there.

“Why doesn't she hit him!?!” Elliot shouted and stood up.

“She's terrified.” A new voice among the group said. Dr Huang had walked up behind the ground and was watching the video. Cragen had called him to ask for his help, with the 72 hour deadline looming nearer and near. If things turned out of the worst he knew his people would need someone to talk to. Elliot was already on the ledge of loosing it, if Emily didn't make it Cragen was worried that he may not recover from it.

“Dig” Nickels ordered. Emily stood there holding the shovel. She didn't move or speak. “Bitch!” He slapped her across the face. “Dig!” This time she started to dig. Though it was difficult with her hands bound with rope, Emily was able to move dirt, very slowly. “In about ten hours, this is where I'm gonna bury your body. Better hurry detective Stabler. Or the last hands to have ever touched her will be mine.” The camera shut off. Without warning the computer screen turned blue. Then every screen on every other computer screen in the room turned blue.

“What just happen?” Cragen asked.

“Must have been a virus. When Elliot opened the email it took out the whole unit.” Fin answered.

Elliot stood, still looking at the blue screen. Then like someone had kicked him, Elliot grabbed the computer monitor and threw it to the ground. “GOD DAM IT!!!”  
Liv ran to his side. She wasn't sure weather to hug him or give him his space. Before she could make a choice he stormed out of the room. She just sighed and watched him go. Two things were clear. Nickels was taunting them, and Elliot was losing it. Then a thought made her turn. “Why did he single out Elliot?” She looked at Huang.

“What do you mean?” Huang hadn't been aware of the relationship between Elliot and Emily.

“He's trying to frame Elliot for this, then calling him out by name in the video.” She paused. “He knew about the relationship between them. He must have been following her for weeks.”

“It would make sense, he knew when she would be alone. He waited until Elliot would be the one to find the scene, thus starting the spark of suspicion toward him.” Huang said.  
Liv stood there trying to put the pieces together in her mind when the phone on her desk rang. “Detective Benson, okay.” She started writing on a note pad. “Thanks” she hung up the phone. “The guys downstairs found a house that Nickels aunt owned ten years ago but sold to an Ellis Kelly.”

Everyone grabbed their coats and ran from the room. Liv grabbed Elliots coat and found him in the hall. She handed him his coat and as they began to run in unison she explained about the phone call she'd just received. He didn't ask her anything he just followed her. He was tried, hungry, emotionally exhausted, and his body was telling him with every aching step to stop. But there was nothing short of death that could stop him from getting to her.

_Emily ran, heart pounding after a man twice her size down an ally. Fist clenched and almost out of breath, she ran as fast as her feet would carry her. When she and Fin tried to arrest him and three others the man took off. Just as she rounded a corner Liv and Elliot pulled up with tires squealing as they slid to a stop. Elliot jumped from the car and started running after Emily and the man._

_Emily had always enjoyed running, and that came in handy on days like that one. The man turned another corner, then Emily, then Elliot. The three were in a line. Emily was only a few feet behind the man, but Elliot was about twenty feet behind them. When they turned another corner Elliot lost sight._

_Finally close enough Emily jumped. Grabbing the man around the waist the two fell to the ground. Elliot rounded the corner just at they hit the ground. The man got on top of Emily and swung. Taking a hit right to the cheek she could taste the blood in her mouth. She took a hold of both of the mans arms trying to ward off another hit. But the man was twice her size and he easily pulled his arm from her grasp. Pulling back to hit her again Emily watched waiting for the pain that he was about to inflict. But then just like some slow motion movie Elliot tackled him, pulling him off of her._

_She got to her feet quickly and went to aid Elliot. Who was now on top of the man. After he hand cuffed the guy he stood up leaving the him on the ground. He'd seen the man hit Emily and he wanted to make sure she was okay. He put his hands on her cheeks to make her look him in the eye. Her nose was bleeding, the blood was running down her face and onto her cloths.. “Are you okay?” He looked her over._

_Emily spat blood on the ground then stood at an odd angle, trying to allow her nose to flow to the ground instead of all over her. “I'm fine.” She was annoyed. This wasn't the first time she'd been hit by a perp. But it still hurt every time. She searched through all her pockets for something to keep herself from bleeding all over the place, but she couldn't find anything._

_Liv turned the corner trying to find them. She stopped when she saw Elliot standing with his hand on Emily's back as she bent over with her hands on her knees. “Hey!” She ran to them. Elliot took a step away from Emily. When Liv got close enough to see all the blood she was concerned. “Are you okay?” She asked her._

_“I'm fine.”_

_“Let's get you to a bus to get checked out.” Liv pulled a rag from her pocket and pressed it to Emily's nose that was still bleeding. She took her by the arm and had a hand over Emily's hand holding the rag to her nose, and led her out of the ally. Leaving Elliot to get the man up and take him to a waiting squad car._

_Sitting on the bumper of the ambulance Emily held gauze to her nose waiting for the bleeding to stop. Elliot stood next to her, almost hoover over her as the paramedics checked her out. Liv stood next to a squad car talking to Fin. She kept looking over at the ambulance. There was something about the way Elliot was acting about Emily that made her question the interactions between the two of them over the past few months._

_After a paramedic walked away Elliot knelled down to Emily, placing a hand on her knee. Liv watched. He gave her more gauze and kept his hand on her knee. Liv knew Elliot cared and didn't want to see anyone get hurt. But his concern was far more than that. Thinking back to all the interactions between the two of them the wheels were spinning in her mind. He had to have feelings for Emily._

_After the paramedics cleared her Emily and Elliot walked to Liv and Fin. “I'm gonna take Emily home.” Elliot told them._

_“Go home and get some rest.” Fin told her. Emily just nodded before she headed to Elliots car._

_Elliot almost got to his car when Liv came up behind him. “El, wait.” She said and he turned around, Emily kept walking and just got in the car. “Hey,is there something going on between the two of you?” She got right to the point._

_He looked at her like she lost her mind. This was the last thing he wanted to hear. “I'm just taking her home, she took a hard hit, I wanna make sure she's okay.” He tried to explain his actions away as nothing more than concern for another officer._

_“I saw the way you were with her back at the ambulance. If there is something going on, you can tell me.” Liv was no fool. She's been a detective for a while, she wasn't usually wrong about these kinds of things._

_“Nothing's going on.” Elliot stood stoic._

_“Okay.” She knew if he didn't want to tell her, he wasn't going to tell her. “Be careful.” Liv turned and walked away._

_Elliot took Emily back to his place. In the bathroom he took a damp cloth and gently wiped the blood from her face. He was so afraid to hurt her. “Liv asked about us?” He stopped and looked at her for a reaction._

_“What do you mean?” She took the cloth from him and stood up. Looking in the mirror she scrubbed her face._

_“She thinks there's something going on.” He sat on the side of the tub and watched her. “We have to disclose.”_

_When the blood was gone she dropped the cloth in the sink and walked out of the bathroom without saying a word. Elliot groaned. Getting up he went to the kitchen. Taking ice from the freezer he put it in a zip lock back then put that in dish cloth. He walked into the living room and sat next to her on the couch. Emily laid down, placing her head in his lap, looking up at him._

_Elliot placed the ice on her face and she winced. The whole left side of her face hurt. “We can't just ignore this. If Liv thinks somethings going on then there must be other people that think the same thing. Liv won't say anything, but I can't say the same for everyone else.”_

_Emily held the ice in place and closed her eyes. “We'll if you could have kept your hands off me this wouldn't have happen. But no you have to act like a teenager.” She was joking. “I don't know what I'm gonna do with you.”_

_“Me, you wanna talk about some one acting like a teenager, what about you and your relentless need for sex?”_

_“Well I can change that if you'd like.” She looked up at him with a smirk._

_“Now your just changing the subject.” He knew her to well._

_“I am not.” She sat up slowly. Pressing her lips to his she straddled him on the couch. With her hands on his face she took his hands and put them on her hips. Moving her hips back and fourth she could feel his excitement growing under her._

_“We have to talk about this.” Elliot spoke quickly between kisses. But he refused to take his hands off her hips. She pulled back from him and looked into his eyes with one eyebrow arched. She pulled her shirt off and then his. Pressing her body against his she started kissing his neck. “Wait, wait..” he took her by the shoulders and held her body away from his._

_Emily just looked at him waiting for him to say something. She could feel he was fully erect and ready to go. His heart was racing, the fast, short breaths he was taking told her that. She knew what she was doing. “Okay.” In one quick motion without warning she rolled to her said and off his lap and sat next to him in just her pants and bra. “I know we need to disclose, I'm just not ready. Give me some more time.” She looked at the TV._

_“Okay.” He wasn't about to make her do something she wasn't ready to do._

_Emily stood up and stopped in front of him, she leaned down and kissed him. “Thank you.” She stood back up to walk away._

_Just as she stepped over his legs he grabbed her by the wrist. “Hey, where do you think your going?”_

_“I'm going to bed, I'm exhausted.” She looked at him with a grin._

_“No your not, you started something that I'm expecting you to finish.” He looked down at his crotch then back at her._

_“Oh, well I'm not a teenager and I have to get up and go to work in the morning.” She pulled away from his reach and walked toward the bedroom still in just pants in a bra._

_Elliot got up and walked up behind her, swooping her up in his arms. “Were gonna finish this.” He began kissing her as he walked to the bed._


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the time it has taken for me to update. But I do want to thank those of you that keep coming back for more.

Pulling up in front of the house the tired squealed as Cragen threw on the breaks and the car slid to a stop. “Stay here!” He demanded to Elliot. Not waiting for a response he got out and followed Fin and Liv into the house with their guns drawn.

Elliot stood outside next to the car waiting. After only a few minutes Cragen appeared on the porch and waved for Elliot to come inside. His heart beat so hard in his chest that it physically hurt. This had to be it, she had to be in that house. Stepping through the front door he joined the group. “She's not here.” Liv looked away from him.

“What? How can that be? He has to be here! She has to be here!” Elliot began to walk through the house. “Look!” He stopped and pointed to a corner. “This is where she was in that video.”

They all looked it over carefully. The could see he was right. They had received that video not even an hour prior to them busting through that door. He couldn't have moved her. She had to be there. Elliot turned and walked the path Nickels had taken Emily in the video. Through the house, out the back door, down the concert stairs, and to place he made her dig.

Looking at the ground there was fresh dirt, like a hole had been dug and filled back in. Elliot fell to his knees and dug his hand in the dirt. “Dig!” He yelled. Fin ran to the house where the shovel was standing leaning against it. Liv hit her knees and began digging with her hands right along side of Elliot.

Fin stuck the shovel in and scooped dirt away as fast as he could. In between shovel scoops Liv and Elliot would move what they could with their hands. Cragen stood over his detectives and watched. Silently preparing himself. If Emily was in that hole, things were gonna turn ugly quick. He knew Elliot would lose his mind. But Fin and Liv would take it hard too. It was never easy to lose someone you worked so closely with for months.

After ten minutes of digging they realized she wasn't there. Liv and Elliot stayed on their knees looking into the hole, while Fin and Cragen stood doing the same. “CAPTIAN!” A local cop yelled from the front of the house. They all ran back through the house to the street where a uniformed cop was waiting with a civilian. “Your gonna wanna hear this.”

“I saw that guy from the news leave there just minutes before you guys pulled up.” A tall thin man pointed down the street. “He walked that way.”

Fin grabbed a mug shot of Nickels. “This guy?” He asked. The man shook his head. “Your sure?”

“Yea, he was talking to himself, really pissed. Bitch this and bitch that. Something didn't go his way.” The man laughed replaying the thought in his mind.

“Thanks.” Elliot began walking down the street.

“Where are you going?” Cragen jogged to stop him. “You can't go anywhere near Nickels if we find him. Fin and Liv will go.”

“Captain...” Elliot motioned with his head for Cragen to turn around.

Just a few houses down Nickels stood on the sidewalk just looking at them. All most in shock. Elliots eyes met his for just a moment. He pushed past Cragen and ran in a full sprint. Nickels turned and began to run. “STOP!” Liv and Fin looked as Elliot yelled and ran past them. When they looked down the street to see Nickels Liv took off running. Fin jumped in his car and speed off.

Nickels jumped a fence and ran though a back yard. Elliot scaled the fence in one swift motion. He wasn't going to let him get away if he had to chase him to the end of the earth. He cased him through a creek, over another fence and back into the main street. Every step he took he was closing the gap between them. The adrenaline was surging through his body, his feet were moving faster than they ever had before, he felt like he may just take flight.

When he ducked between two house Nickels slipped on ice and hit the group. Before he could get up Elliot was there. Tackling him. Elliot turned him to his back. Grabbing him by the front of his shirt he pulled him up then beat his head back against the pavement.

Dazed but not out, Nickels was able to slip out of under Elliot. With his legs he pushed Elliot back. By the time he was to his feet so was Elliot. He pulled him by the back of his color, to him. Wrapping his arm around his neck Elliot used the force of his body to push Nickels face first into the brick wall of the house.

Liv finally found the two men and ran up to them yelling Elliots name the whole time. She grabbed him by the arm to push him away. “If you kill him we won't find her!” She tried to get his attention. But he never took his eyes off Nickels. Elliot turned him back around to him and pushed him back against the wall. “STOP!” She shouted. This time he herd her.

Still holding Nickels by the color he looked at Liv as she was struggling to get between the two men. “I've got him, let go.” She was starting to handcuff Nickels. “Let him go.”

Elliot looked at Nickels, wanting to kill him, but then let him go once Liv had the cuffs on him. She took Nickels by the arm and led him away, leaving Elliot to take a breath. Bending over he put his hands on his knees and caught his breath.

Back in front of the house where they started Liv held Nickels against the car. “Where is she?” She asked him. He just smiled at her. He knew that as long as they didn't find Emily he had a bargaining tool. “Listen were gonna find her, finding her alive is a lot better for you than if we find her dead.”

“Why don't you take me back to the station, we can talk there. I wanna get out of this cold. Away from this hell hole.” Nickels smiled at her.

Liv pushed Nickels into the back of the car. Cragen had her and Fin take him back to the station and instructed Elliot to stay at the house. Emily was around there somewhere and if not, the key to finding her was there. As much as Elliot wanted his chance with Nickels he agreed. All he wanted to do was find Emily. Nickels wasn't going anywhere. But Emily may have been running out of time.

_It had been a long day filled with disappointment. Emily hadn't found what she needed to put a child molester away and had to watch as he walked out of the squad room with his grin that knew he couldn't be touched. She'd just about lost it while questioning the sicko, she hit him twice before Fin pulled her away from him. After the guy left Cragen told her to go home. The job was never easy and sometimes he had to send people home just to get them away._

_Once home she took a shower and laid on the couch flipping through channels. When her phone dinged she knew it was Elliot. She'd sent different ringers and text message notifications for him so she always knew right away who it was. Opening her phone she read the message. 'I'm gonna be here all night, don't wait up, I'll see you tomorrow' “Awesome.”_

_They weren't spending every night together, but dam near close to it. But if work came up or he was spending time with his kids they would spend the night apart. They were getting use to always having the other person around._

_She was sound asleep on the couch with the TV still on when her phone rang. Grabbing blindly at the coffee table it stopped ringing by the time she grabbed it. She laid there with her arm stretched out and her hand resting on top of her phone on the coffee table. She didn't want to move if she didn't have to, but it rang again. More awake this time she realized it was Elliots ringer._

_Looking at the phone it was three in the morning and she had missed several text from him. “Hello?” She closed her eyes again as answered._

_“_ _Hey I'm downstairs, let me in.”_

_“Okay.” Getting up she walked to the door and buzzed him up, and unlocked the door before she went back to the couch. She sat there in rubbing her eyes when he walked through the door. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren't gonna make it.”_

_Elliot sat on the couch. “I was worried about you. Were you sleeping?”_

_“That's what normal people do at three in the morning.”_

_“That's why I asked if you were.” He joked with her. “You didn't answer any of my text. And after today I just thought you shouldn't be alone.”_

_“I appreciate the concern, but you didn't have to come over.”_

_“Well if we lived together I wouldn't have had to wake you.”_

_“Well you did wake me, and now I won't be able to go back to sleep so what are you going to do about that?”_

_“_ _Me? I'm going to bed. I've been at work since seven yesterday morning.”_

_Emily scooted over until she was sitting in his lap. Kissing him she took one of his hands and placed it on her knee. Slowly she moved his hand up her thigh and under her night gown until he realized she was wearing only that night gown. His eyes widened._

_With his lips locked and his hand exploring her soft, warm hidden region, he moved. Sliding her off his lap, onto the couch, with her now on her back looking up at him. Parting her sensitive folds he slid two fingers inside of her causing her moan softly. As he moved his finger around inside her she grabbed a hold of his shoulders. With each flick of the tip of his finger she pulled on him harder._

_Breathing heavily she moved her hands from shoulders to the front of him. Running them slowly over his chest down his stomach stopping at his belt. While he still moved inside of her wetness, she unfastened his belt. Pulling it from the loops and letting it fall to the ground beside them. Then she unbuttoned his pants and pushed them and his boxers down past his hips. Exposing his fully erect penis._

_Wrapping her hand around his shaft she moved back and fourth. Tightening and then realizing her grip. Her hand on him made him lose focus as his eyes rolled back in his head from the sinful pleasure. Taking his hand from between her legs he pulled her nightgown over her head._

_W_ _ith her laying under him naked he kissed her neck as he used his knee to part her legs. Now between her legs he pressed the tip of his penis against her clit. Moving around he knew he was rubbing against it and driving her nuts. Her crys of bliss made his want it so bad._

_Finally he pushed into her, hard and fast. Throwing her head back she thrust her hips up. Her hands on his back she pulled him toward her. She needed to feel his body against her and every inch of him inside her. He pulled out then pushed back deep inside her. Her nails digging into his back each time he did this._

_Emily took a hand off his back and placed it on his chest pushing him away almost. “Wait.” She said almost out of breath. Elliot didn't pull out but he did stop worried that he'd done something to hurt her. “Sit up.” The smile on her face suggested she had something on her mind._

_Elliot did as he was instructed. She knew what she wanted and was taking charge. There was something incredibly hot about that. Sitting on the couch with his feet on the floor he watched her stand up. With her back to him she positioned herself over his lap. Lowering herself into his lap she took him in her hand to guide him inside her. A deep primal sound escaped him as he entered her. Leaning back against him she began to move. Riding him like he was just there to please him. And he loved it._

_Reaching around he put his hand on her neck as he bit the side of her neck just hard enough to send chills through her body. With his other hand he reached around and began to rub her clit. Slowly at first. Just enjoying the feeling of her on him. Then he began to rub harder and faster. She almost squealed as the carnal passion sent waves of pleasure through every inch of her body._

_When it became almost to much to bear she bent forward placing her hands on his knees. Trying to escape his reach, trying to ward off the coming orgasm. He could tell and he wasn't about to stop. Putting his arm around her waist holding his hand flat against his chest just below her neck, he pulled her back against him. Once again able to reach her clit he began to rub faster._

_“Oh, God, Stop.” Emily cried out trying to pull his grip away from her._

_“_ _I don't think so...” With his feet on the floor be started thrusting upward. Holding her there he felt the muscles inside her tighten around him causing him to explode inside her. Her hands on his arm holding her, she squeezed as every muscle in her body flexed and her legs began to shake. “That's right.” He whispered in her ear as she rode out the orgasm._

_They sat there on the couch, naked and trying to catch their breath. “Good God.” Emily couldn't believe how good it had been. The sex between the two of them was always good, but this was mind blowing. “Been holding out on me Stabler?”_

_“Like that did ya?” He asked as he looked over at her._

_“I don't think I can move.” She starred at the ceiling._

_“Do I need to carry you to bed?”_

_“Why you gonna take advantage of me when you get me there?”_

_“I might.” He smiled and stood up._

_“I might let you.” She stood up and took him by the hand and led him to the bedroom_

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sure you figured it out, but anything in italic is a flashback. Thanks for reading, I will update soon.


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